Cut Off
by colorguard28
Summary: Vance suspends the entire team for evidence tampering and Abby knows something is hinky. Can she find out what's going on in time?
1. Chapter 1

_AN: This started as an entry for the NCIS LFWS contest on LJ. The prompt for Round 9 was cliffhanger, so watch out for the ending of this chapter. There are six more to come after this. Ch. 2 won't go up until I see what the Round 10 prompt is on Thursday - just in case we need to resolve it for the next round. Huge thanks to Kyrie for editing - this one went through about six rounds of revisions. _

_Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are property of DPB and CBS. I'm just playing with them and will return them unharmed when I'm done._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Abby sat on the edge of McGee's desk, waiting for the team to come back from wherever they were. One booted foot swung as she checked the time again. They hadn't caught a case — Timmy or Tony or Ziva would have texted her to cancel their lunch plans. Movement on the catwalk caught her eye, and she looked up to see the team and Vance coming downstairs.

"There you are." She stood as they all walked into the bullpen. "What happened to lunch?"

"Not possible, Miss Scuito." Vance stood in the space between Tony and Ziva's desks. "Agent Balboa."

The lead of the Cold Case team looked up from his seat behind Gibbs' desk. "Yes, Director?"

"Your team will be escorting Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee, and David off the Yard." Vance walked over to Gibbs' desk and pointed to an empty space. "Badges, guns, and NCIS IDs."

Abby watched as Gibbs pulled his SIG and holster from his desk, then put his badge and ID folder next to it.

"You're making a mistake, Leon." Gibbs glared at Vance, but the director just turned to look at the others.

"I only see one badge. There should be four of them." He looked first at McGee, then Tony, then Ziva.

Abby twisted her hands together and watched as McGee took his gun from its lockbox. She opened her mouth as McGee walked over and placed the weapon on the desk next to Gibbs'. He unclipped the badge from his belt and set it down, his movements deliberate, then stood next to Gibbs, his arms crossed. Before she could say anything, Tony and Ziva did the same thing, until the four members of the MCRT stood facing Vance. Like Gibbs, her Three Musketeers showed no expression on their faces.

Abby shivered, a prickle working its way along her spine. She realized her mouth was still open and closed it, her teeth worrying her lower lip.

"Gibbs. McGee. DiNozzo. David. You are hereby suspended from NCIS pending a complete investigation into the allegations of evidence-tampering." Vance's voice was clear and carried through the silent squad room. "You are not to have contact with any staff member of this agency for any reason until the investigation is complete."

Abby stepped forward, and Vance turned to her.

"I said any staff member, Miss Scuito. That includes you. No phone calls, e-mails, text messages, visits, or any other form of communication or contact." Vance surveyed the room. "This applies to each of you. Violations will be punished with immediate suspension and a written reprimand in the offender's personnel file."

Abby opened her mouth to protest, but Gibbs shook his head, and she sank back onto the edge of McGee's desk instead.

"Agent Balboa, escort them out." Vance stayed in the bullpen, watching the procession toward the elevator.

Abby stayed where she was. Who was she kidding? She had to stay. She didn't think her legs would support her if she tried to stand. What was going on? She hugged herself, wishing it was Gibbs or Timmy or Tony or Ziva comforting her instead. The rest of the squad room remained silent, but Abby knew as soon as she left, as soon as Vance went back to his office, the buzz of rumors would start. Everybody would talk. About her team. About this, this...

"Director, there's been a mistake."

Vance slowly turned to face her. "No mistake, Miss Scuito. Not on my part. And when the investigation bears out the accusations, you will see that. The only mistake made was by the agents who thought they could get away with breaking the law."

"But... But it's Gibbs. Gibbs! And the rest of them... They would never tamper with evidence. You know that, Director. They would never-"

"Miss Scuito." He stepped up to face her. "Go down to your lab. Work on the cases that _are_ your responsibility. Leave this one to me." He paused. "DO NOT think you can get around the no-contact restriction on this. I will be watching."

Abby wanted to protest, but she didn't want to get the team in any more trouble. This was already worse trouble than she'd ever seen them in, even the time Chip framed Tony or when Metro arrested McGee or when the FBI was after Ziva or when Gibbs- Oh, Gibbs.

She started to walk out of the squad room, fighting back tears. She was not going to let the rest of the agency see her cry, not when it would just be more fodder for the rumor mill.

Once back in her lab, she locked the sliding door between her office and the main lab, then grabbed Bert and slid down the wall to sit behind her desk, hugging the hippo the way she wanted to hug her team. This had to be a mistake. OK, so the team had been in trouble before, usually because some dirtbag had framed- Wait. That had to be it. Somebody was framing them for this, whatever this was. Well, they weren't going to get away with it.

Abby pushed herself up off the floor. She needed to figure out what Vance was charging them with and who could have set them up. And she needed to stay under the radar. She didn't doubt the director's promise to suspend anybody who broke the rules on this one, and she'd be even less help to the team if she was suspended.

She unlocked the sliding doors and walked into the main lab, putting Bert on the shelf by her computers so he could remind her the team would be OK. She took a deep breath, then went to the bathroom down the hall to wash her face. She felt better after that and returned to her lab, determined to get justice for her friends.

"We will fix this. Right, Bert?" But she had to be careful. If the director caught her snooping, she'd be lucky not to get fired. Good thing she'd always been sneaky.

Brain Matter would have helped her concentrate, but it would also keep her from hearing somebody come in the lab, and she couldn't afford that. If anybody caught her snooping, she'd be suspended.

Balboa almost caught her when he came down for the results of an AFIS search she'd been running for his team, but she was able to switch screens before he could see what she was up to.

The sun set, and only the small desk lights and glow from the computer monitors lit the rooms. Abby moved to her desk for a while, fingers tapping on the keys as she dug deeper. It was late, past midnight, before she figured out the case she needed to focus on. It was an embezzlement case the MCRT had worked with Agent Krone's team last month, so she hadn't been involved with it. But several files within the master case file were sealed. She needed to access those files and do it without leaving a trace. She grinned. Good thing McGee was the only person at NCIS who might — might — be able to out-hack her.

She took a deep breath. Gibbs couldn't give her a get-out-of-jail-free card on this one. If she got caught... Abby bit down on her lip and tried to will away the creepy feeling at the back of her neck. It was late. The office was almost empty. Nobody had a hot case; nobody would be coming in looking for evidence. Not this late.

Abby started digging, hacking her way into the secure files. The more she read, the worse it looked for her friends. If the agency made these charges stick, they were all going to Leavenworth for the rest of their lives. She blinked back tears. No. She wouldn't let that happen. This had to be a set-up.

_Click._ She stopped, fingers frozen above the keys. She kept her face turned to the computer, but slid her eyes to one side, then the other, looking for the source of the noise. Nothing. Abby waited. Still nothing. She started digging again. Another secure file. Another code to-

She stopped. Looked around. When she saw Harry push his cart of cleaning supplies past the lab door, she felt her shoulders sag in relief. Just Harry. He wouldn't know what she was doing; he couldn't tell what was on her screens without his reading glasses. Still, she needed to be more careful. If somebody caught her, told Director Vance...

Abby transferred the searches to the computer by Major Mass Spec and moved to the main lab, where she would be closer to the door and better able to hear before someone walked in on her. The deep shadows around the room made her shiver, but she shook them off. She was going to find answers.

As she returned to her digging, her hopes sank. There was too much evidence to be a mistake. Too many files that needed explanation.

She stared at the file currently on her screen, mutely shaking her head. Impossible. He knew them better than that, knew they would never break- OK, so they would break rules and protocol. But they did that to get justice, not subvert it. He knew they wouldn't tamper with evidence, knew Gibbs would headslap anybody who dared, even himself. She'd even told him that earlier today — well, yesterday — that the team would never-

He hadn't answered her. She'd said he knew they wouldn't, and he had changed the subject. But... She grabbed Bert and hugged him close. Abby drew in a shaky breath and let it out. There had to be a reason. He'd had a reason for splitting up the team. He'd had a reason for staying friends with Eli David. He must have a reason for this.

Abby looked around, giving in to her paranoia that he was watching over her shoulder, but there was nobody there. She swallowed hard and set Bert down. She had to find answers before people started coming in for the day. Before the director came in. The minutes ticked by, and Abby forced herself not to rush, not to get caught because she was desperate. But she couldn't find a thing to explain why the director had set up the team.

Every file had come from Vance's office. Vance headed the investigation. Vance logged his findings. He had even submitted the whistleblower form, accusing the team of tampering with evidence.

"Why are you doing this, Leon?"

"Doing what, Miss Scuito?"


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Yikes! Sorry for the delay - I didn't get revisions done on this until later than I thought, and then Kyrie didn't have time to edit. Good news is, I've finished the story - just need to get the other chapters revised and edited, so it should be posting regularly. Thanks for all the reviews last chapter - looks like the LFWS voters weren't the only ones who liked the cliffhanger. Hope the rest of the tale lives up to it. :)_ _And as always HUGE, HUGE thanks to Kyrie for editing!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

_A week earlier..._

Tony walked into the squad the team had wrapped up their latest case, he was hoping to get caught up on paperwork before diving into cold cases. Dawn was just beginning to lighten the open space, and Tony stopped as he caught movement in the bullpen.

"McGee?" The junior agent still wore yesterday's clothes. "Have you been here all night?" Tony dropped his gear, stowed his gun, and walked over to other man's desk. But Tim was in his zone and didn't seem to have registered Tony's presence.

"Probie."

The word penetrated McGee's focus. "Huh?" He shook his head. "Tony?" McGee frowned. "Why are you here so late?"

It was Tony's turn to frown. "McGoo, it's 0600." He turned McGee's chair toward the window. "See, sun." He crouched next to him, looking his teammate in the eye. "We're working cold cases. Why did you pull an all-nighter?"

McGee looked around, his neck stretching as he surveyed the room.

"We're the only ones idiotic enough to be here at oh-dark-30, McSkittish," Tony said. "What's going on?"

McGee turned his monitor so Tony could see it and started pulling up files.

"We've got a problem," he said. His right hand swiped and clicked to move files onto the screen as he explained. "I was working on the Hector case, an embezzlement from a few years back."

Tony frowned as he skimmed the information. "That's not one of ours."

"No, Agent Krone's team worked it." McGee kept clicking. "They didn't solve it, but there was something hinky about it."

"Hinky how?" Tony made a face. "Like Commander Voss-hinky or like Captain Watson-hinky?"

"Like something-didn't-add-up hinky," McGee retorted. "But that's not the important part."

Tony made a face. "So what is?"

"_Where_ the numbers didn't add up." McGee looked around and dropped his voice to a whisper, though Tony still didn't see anyone. "One of the files had a different amount listed, so I went down to archives to pull the evidence boxes."

McGee wasn't doing his geek-speak, but Tony still didn't get it. Not stopping for coffee had been a bad idea. "And..." he prompted.

"Tony, there was more money missing."

Tony squeezed his eyes shut. "You mean the dirtbag kept stealing, and we didn't catch him?"

"No, I mean the information the agents filed doesn't match what the Navy reported missing." He pulled up two sets of files on screen. "The final reports all have $987,000 missing. But the initial notes list $997,000."

"Bad handwriting?"

McGee shook his head. "No, the notes are clear, and it's written in there a few different times. No mistake."

"So, what?" Tony still didn't know where McGee was going.

"So I did a little more digging," he said.

"And?" When McGee didn't respond, Tony pulled out his best Gibbs-glare. "Don't make me head-slap yous."

McGee motioned him closer. "I found six other cases, closed cases, where the amount in the initial notes didn't match the amount in the rest of the files."

"The official ones were lower." Tony shook his head. "Dammit, I hate cases like that."

McGee just lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on. You don't think I haven't seen it before?" Tony started pacing between his desk and McGee's. "It happens all the time in cop shops. At the scene, it's 19 kilos of coke and by the time the evidence report is filed, it's 17." He spun to face McGee. "So who's the dirtbag masquerading as an agent?"

McGee made a face. "That's what I've been trying to figure out."

"It has to be somebody who worked all the cases," Tony said.

"Yeah, I know, Tony." McGee sighed. "Sorry. It's been a long night." He rubbed his forehead. "All six cases involve the same team: Krone's."

"Same agents?" Tony asked.

McGee shrugged. "So far."

Tony thought for a second. "What about the archived files? Has anybody else checked them all out?"

"Vance."

"The director?" Tony frowned. "He wouldn't do that. I mean, he's not exactly Mr. Warm and Fuzzy, but he's not a criminal. I don't think." Tony made a face. "We can't investigate this like a regular case, or we'll spook the rat." He thought. "OK, you go take a nap in the lab. I'll cover for you with the boss."

"I want to live," McGee shot back. "If Gibbs catches me sleeping-"

"McGee, go." He paused. "Actually, go down to Ducky's office. I'll call him - he'll keep his mouth shut. Abby will want to know what's going on."

McGee just nodded and shuffled out of the bullpen. Tony checked the time, then called Ducky and told him McGee was sleeping in his office and not to mention it to anybody.

"_Anthony, if Jethro comes-"_

"I'll handle the Boss, Ducky. You just take care of everybody else." He hung up.

"You will, will you?"

Tony reflexively ducked, but not in time to miss the head slap. "It's not what it sounds like, Boss." He turned to face Gibbs, who stood there, coffee in hand. Tony hurried to explain. Sort of.

"McGee got caught up in a cold case and was still working on it when I came in. I sent him down to Ducky's office to sleep for a couple of hours, since Abby will have her music blasting."

Gibbs looked at him, and Tony hoped the team leader would leave it.

"McGee crack one of them?"

Tony shrugged. "He's got something, but he hasn't pinned it down. If we don't have a hot case, I'm going to work on it for a while, see if together we can break it open."

Gibbs lifted one eyebrow.

"Boss, trust me on this one." Tony held Gibbs' gaze, until the team leader gave a tiny nod.

As Gibbs walked over to his desk, Tony sat down, picking up where McGee left off. He transferred McGee's searches to his computer, but left his notes where they were. Knowing McGee, he had some super-secret way to lock the files on his computer. Tony would settle for his standby on sensitive cases — illegible handwriting and his personal shorthand developed on the job.

He went through case after case, hoping one would narrow their suspect list. But as he worked his way through case files, he realized this couldn't all be done by computer. On the other hand, if he went to the archives and started pulling lots of cases, word would get around, especially since they were all Krone's team's cases.

There had to be a way around that. Tony knew the night crew over at the archives pretty well. He and McGee could pull an all-nighter, get the archives crew to let them into the files without logging each case. He shook his head. That would open up a loophole the rogue agent or agents could use when this went to trial. If he and McGee thought that anybody with access to all the files could be involved, so could somebody else. Once the archives staff testified McGee and Tony had pulled files without logging them, any halfway competent defense attorney could cast reasonable doubt by arguing Tony and McGee had set up the real crook. McGee was already setting himself up with the boxes he had checked out. If Tony couldn't find other cases that were hinky without checking the archives... He pushed the thought aside and dug back into the files.


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: Huge thanks to Kyrie, who's been inundated with stories to edit this week and hasn't killed me... yet. :) Hopefully this clears up some questions... Or maybe poses new ones. ;) Also, if you've seen Baltimore, you'll notice an allusion to the events in it, but if you haven't seen it, you probably won't even notice it._

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Gibbs settled behind his desk, but kept an eye on Tony. His senior field agent was deep into whatever he was investigating, and that made Gibbs' gut churn all the more. First McGee pulls an all-nighter on a cold case, not his style. DiNozzo, sure. He always said he did his best work at night. It was unusual for Tony not to pull at least one all-nighter a week, even when they were only working cold cases.

Whatever McGee had found, DiNozzo was now helping with, but wouldn't tell him about. That sure as hell wasn't Tony's style. He'd help McGee, especially if McGee asked, but Tony rarely fell into the same zone that McGee had a habit of dropping into. He'd joke, get up and walk around, play games. It was how his mind worked, and it was remarkably effective.

And then there was Ducky. When McGee slept at the office, it was either in the lab or at his desk. Tony occasionally slept in Autopsy, and Gibbs himself tended to gravitate there if he was looking for a flat surface for sleeping. The steel tables weren't any harder or more uncomfortable than the basement floor, but Tony must have sent McGee to see Ducky for a reason. He decided to go visit his oldest friend and see what the medical examiner knew.

Gibbs walked into Autopsy to find Ducky working at the small desk.

"Ah, Jethro," Ducky said. "As you have no current case, I assume you are looking for Timothy."

Gibbs shook his head. He needed to pick Duck's brain first. "McGee mention this case he was working on?"

Ducky looked up at him, worry tracing creases in his forehead. "He said it wasn't a case."

Gibbs looked at the medical examiner, searching his face. But Duck didn't seem to know any more. Gibbs' gut churned more. Why were the guys keeping secrets? Especially from him?

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><p>McGee had found both Autopsy and Ducky's office dark when he'd gotten off the elevator. He hadn't bothered turning on a light — the hallway outside the elevator had provided enough light for him to find the door to Ducky's office. The small space had a worn couch, one Ducky or Palmer sometimes used to grab quick naps during long cases. McGee had stripped off his blazer and shoes, then had tried to get comfortable.<p>

As he had curled his long limbs onto the short couch, he'd wondered briefly how Jimmy ever managed to find it comfortable. But he'd been asleep within minutes, his night catching up to him.

McGee blinked his eyes. The room didn't- Oh, right. Ducky's office. He gingerly stretched, but his body still felt as though it was moving in molasses.

"Ah, Timothy." Ducky's voice came from beyond his feet, and McGee shifted until he could see the medical examiner sitting in the battered armchair near the door, a cup of tea in hand.

"Ducky?" He wanted to say more, but a yawn cut him off.

"My dear boy, you have only been asleep for about an hour," Ducky said. "Why don't you try to go back to sleep for a bit."

McGee shook his head. "No time. Tony-" What was he supposed to remember about Tony?

"Jethro will not be happy if you are yawning through the day," Ducky said. "I do not know what case has kept you here all night, but suffice it to say you will be more effective investigating it if your brain has a chance to recharge."

"Not a case," Tim said, but then he lay his head back on the worn cushions. Before Ducky could ask him anything, he was asleep again.

When McGee next blinked awake and checked his watch, it was almost noon. He groaned — Gibbs was going to kill him. At least he'd be awake for it. He grabbed his blazer and shoved his feet into his shoes, racing upstairs. The squad room was quiet. When he stepped into the bullpen, he saw that Gibbs and Ziva weren't there and that Tony was working at his computer. Actually working, not playing video games.

"Did we catch a case?" He slid into his chair, pulling up his e-mail.

Tony shook his head. "You know how twitchy Ziva gets after too much time on cold cases. Gibbs took her to the gym for sparring practice."

McGee winced. "He didn't make you go, too?"

"He knew I was still working on this," Tony said. "But you know, it's time for a coffee break."

McGee nodded and started sorting through his e-mail.

"McGee."

He looked up to see Tony standing there waiting for him. "But I just got-" It clicked. "Just got done and could use some coffee." He followed Tony to the elevator.

He half-expected the senior agent to flip the stop switch in the elevator, but they descended to the ground floor smoothly. It wasn't until they were outside the building that McGee turned to Tony.

"What-?"

Tony just shook his head and didn't speak until they had rounded the corner of the Navy Museum. "You were right, but we've got a problem."

"Well, yeah, Tony. If I'm right, we've got a big problem."

"Not that, McGee." Tony shook his head. "You traced the thefts by checking the electronic files against the paper records in the archives."

"Right. So what's... Oh."

"Yeah." Tony led them along the longer, less-trafficked route to their favorite coffee shop. "We can't figure out all the cases involved unless we do a lot of hunting in the archives."

"And all visits to the archives are recorded, and the cases pulled are logged." McGee frowned. "So until we know who we're investigating, we run the risk of tipping them off by creating too many footprints. And without the paper files, we don't have enough information to narrow it down any further."

"Exactly." Tony looked over at him. "Based on what you found, I've got a list of similar cases that could be compromised."

"But without checking each one, we can't confirm it." McGee sighed. "You think maybe it's time we bring Gibbs in on this?"

Tony nodded. "He knows we're working on something, but I managed to get him to back off and just let me dig."

"How? By replacing him with a pod person?" McGee couldn't help grinning despite the dire situation. "Gibbs never backs off."

"He trusts us," Tony said. "Though if we don't tell him soon, he'll start dishing out the head slaps. But he knew I wasn't just blowing smoke up his ass when I told him we'd let him know once we were sure."

"Sounds like we're as sure as we're going to get without bringing him into it," Tim said. He frowned. "Can Gibbs get around the archive restriction, though?"

Tony shook his head. "Even if he could, we'd create a hole wide enough for the defense to drive Abby's hearse through. We have to find a way to do it without compromising the case."

"Can even Gibbs do that?" McGee pinched his lower lip as he thought. "Or do we need Vance's help on this?"

"Vance is going to have to be brought in the loop at some point." Tony held up his hand as they approached the shop. "Coffee first, talk on the way back."

McGee juggled and sorted the pieces in his brain while they waited. There had to be some way to investigate this without tipping off any of the potential suspects.

It wasn't until they were headed back to the office that he voiced the thought, though.

"This is why IA is the worst assignment to draw," Tony said. "Nobody trusts you, _and_ you have to fool a bunch of trained investigators to do your job well."

McGee looked over at his partner. "You ever...?"

Tony shook his head. "No. Never reported anybody to the rat squad, either." He tipped his head, cracked his neck. "Some things you don't do."

"You're saying we shouldn't...?" McGee didn't know how to finish his thought.

"No putting words in my mouth, Probie." Tony glared at him. "I don't rat out partners. I ever think there's something hinky with you or Ziva, I'll talk to you. If I can't trust you, I'll move to another team. But I won't rat you out." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Tim. Old memories." Tony paused. "Look, you don't rat out your partner, even when you have three of them." He grinned, but McGee could see it didn't reach his eyes. "Other agents? Not the same. If there's corruption, well, it needs to go. Doesn't matter how high it goes or how few people are involved. If it isn't stopped, it spreads. Just got to be careful how — you get a reputation as a rat, and it isn't long before other cops cut you off. Slow backup, no backup... Dangerous stuff."

McGee nodded. He wanted to say more, but there was obviously a sore spot there, and he didn't want to press it. He settled on, "Let's tell Gibbs when they get done sparring."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_The next week..._

Gibbs was about to tell the team they could go for lunch when he caught Vance staring at him from the catwalk. The director jerked his head, and Gibbs knew it was time.

"With me." He looked around the bullpen. McGee looked startled for a minute, then nodded. Tony raised his eyebrows, and Gibbs glared.

"Yes, Boss," Tony said. "On it, Boss."

"Gibbs?" Ziva asked, even as she stood to follow. He shot her the same glare he'd given Tony.

As his team followed him upstairs, Gibbs wondered if this meant Vance had decided to go ahead with the long-shot plan they had discussed or if he'd already closed the case. But the director didn't speak until they were in his office, door closed.

"I have a mission for the four of you. Top secret. Need to know."

"What kind of mission, director?" Ziva asked.

"Agents McGee and DiNozzo uncovered evidence that an agent or agents are siphoning off recovered government money." Vance moved to the conference table and put up photos of three agents on the plasma. "With DiNozzo's help, McGee was able to narrow it down to these three — Agents Proctor, Richards, and Krone. But investigating more would have tipped off the agents, a risk we couldn't afford."

"You did not say anything about this," Ziva said, looking from McGee to Tony.

"We weren't keeping it a secret, Ziva," McGee said. "Well, we were, but Tony only knows because he walked in while I was digging into the discrepancies I'd found."

"Yes, McGee, I understand. Rule 4. To stay a secret, this had to stay quiet." She nodded.

"There a point to this, Leon?"

"Patience, Gibbs. I know you have it." Vance pointed to the chairs around the table and waited until they all were seated. "I need a way to get you four off the grid long enough to investigate and a way to get you access to the paper files of the potentially compromised cases. The last piece just fell into place thanks to the FBI."

"Fornell?" Gibbs said.

"He just got back from an undercover op last night, and his director decided helping us with this smokescreen was a good way to give him some time off." Vance looked around the table. "This is not something you can share. Not with Dr. Mallard or Mr. Palmer or Miss Scuito."

"Understood, Director," Gibbs said. He looked around the table as each of his agents nodded agreement.

"Getting you off the grid will require a bit of acting on your parts. When we finish here, we are going to the bullpen, where I will publicly order somebody to escort you off the Yard because the four of you are suspended from the agency pending an investigation into allegations of evidence tampering." Vance held up a finger.

"Where does Fornell come in?" Tony look at Vance. "And is Sacks involved?"

"No, just Fornell," Vance replied. "I'll announce that the FBI is investigating because of the serious nature of the allegations, so nobody will be surprised when they come in and take custody of the many boxes of evidence from past cases that need to be examined for potential tampering."

Gibbs watched his agents' faces. Ziva and DiNozzo nodded, while McGee had a slight smile on his face.

"So Fornell will take the boxes we need, then go back to his days off while we complete the actual investigation," McGee said. "And since the whole agency will be talking about this, everybody will just assume they're our cases, and nobody is likely to check which ones were taken."

"Even more than that, McGoo," DiNozzo said. "If it does spook our rogue agent to check into the confiscated cases, we'll be able to catch him with his hand in the cookie jar."

"Correct, both of you," Vance said. "I've set up a casefile in the system on the chance that somebody goes looking and sealed a number of documents so only I can access them. That will prevent anybody from discovering which cases were actually taken."

Before the director had finished speaking, McGee was shaking his head. "Not anybody, director. Abby could hack into the files."

Vance nodded. "I'm counting on it."

"You are?" DiNozzo looked from Vance to Gibbs. Gibbs just shrugged.

"We need to get Miss Scuito into the bullpen for this little scene," Vance said. "She won't believe the allegations, and she'll argue with me."

"You think?" Tony muttered so low that only Gibbs, who was sitting next to him, heard.

"Miss Scuito, I'm sure, will spend the next several hours trying to hack into the files to figure out what's going on." Vance looked at McGee, and Gibbs prepared himself not to understand anything about this next part. "I've set things up so she will find surface evidence, but the deeper she digs, the more it will appear that I set you up."

McGee nodded slowly. "That's about the only way it would work. She can get root-level access to the system, which means she would eventually see through any attempts to make the files look like they originated somewhere else."

"This has to look as real as possible, or it won't work." Vance looked toward Gibbs. "Gibbs is letting us use his basement as a base of operations. Apparently with no boat there, he has space."

DiNozzo snickered, and Gibbs smacked his head.

"I set up a high-speed line at Gibbs' house earlier this week for just this eventuality," Vance continued, ignoring the small disruption. "McGee, Fornell is going to bring over a computer with the file boxes. It has all the programs you'll need for full access and a dummy user account that I set up." He handed McGee a piece of paper, which the computer expert tucked in his pocket. "Gibbs, Fornell will go to the archives as soon as I give the signal and take all the cases you and your team needs, then deliver them to your house."

"That makes a great deal of sense," Ziva said. "It is where we met in similar cases."

Gibbs nodded. "We have a day, maybe two, to investigate before Abby realizes it's a setup."

McGee shook his head. "Not even that. Abby is going to drop everything to do this. She'll figure it out by morning."

Vance nodded. "That doesn't give you much time then."

"I still do not understand," Ziva said. "Time for what?"

"Before Miss Scuito cracks those files, you need to have a name," Vance said. "I plan to use her as part of the final stage of the plan, but we need to be ready to act right then."

"That doesn't give us much time," McGee said. "You could try disabling the Caf-Pow machine to slow her down, but that could be hazardous to everybody else."

"I am sorry to be slow, but I do not understand why Abby cannot be in on this from the beginning." Ziva frowned. "Would that not be easier?"

"Abs wouldn't be able to pull it off," Tony said. "Remember Domino?"

"Yes," Ziva said. "Abby helped Gibbs and the director set the trap and did not give up the spook beforehand, even to McGee."

"No, but I knew something was going on," McGee said.

"Exactly," Tony said. "Abs has such an expressive face, she can't hide her feelings. She has to be out of the loop so her reactions don't tip anybody off."

McGee shuddered. "I'm just glad I won't have to be the one to explain that we tricked her."

Gibbs hid his smile. He almost regretted he wouldn't be there to witness Abby's reaction when Vance explained why she had been kept out of the loop.

"You know the plan." Vance stood. "Give yourselves a few minutes to get into the mindset. Once we go through our scene in the bullpen, everyone's going to assume that I've been up here reading you the riot act and informing you that you're all being suspended. You're supposed to be pissed at me."

Gibbs bit back the remark that rose to his lips. Vance was no Morrow, but as directors went, he was one of the best since Gibbs had started working on the Yard.

"So now we just need to get Miss Scuito into the bullpen," Vance said.

McGee checked his watch, then shook his head. "No need. The three of us were supposed to go to lunch with her — she's probably down there now wondering where we are."

Gibbs nodded. "All of you, go home, grab enough gear for a few days — just in case, and meet back at my place. That should give Fornell time to deliver the files." He motioned his team toward the door.

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-

Vance led the way down the stairs, channeling his fury at the idiot agents who thought they could get away with stealing from the government. As he stood aside to let the MCRT walk into the bullpen, he didn't have to pretend to be pissed about what he was about to do.

"There you are." Abby stood up. "What happened to lunch?"

Vance made a point of shutting her down. "Not possible, Miss Scuito." He stood in the space between Tony and Ziva's desks and surveyed the room. "Agent Balboa."

"Yes, Director?"

"Your team will be escorting Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee, and David off the Yard." Vance walked over to Gibbs' desk. This was the part everybody had to play right. "Badges, guns, and NCIS IDs."

Gibbs was first, setting them down on his desk. "You're making a mistake, Leon." Gibbs glared. Good. One person down, three to go.

"I only see one badge. There should be four of them." He looked first at McGee, then Tony, then Ziva. McGee was the one he was least sure of. But the agent took his gun from his lockbox and walked over, setting it down. He unclipped his badge, almost slamming it down on the desk, then went to stand by Gibbs. Vance was impressed. If he didn't know better, he'd think McGee was seriously pissed at him. DiNozzo and David followed suit, until Vance faced a solid MCRT wall. Good thing this wasn't for real. Vance didn't run from fights, but these four were enough to intimidate a platoon full of Marines.

"Gibbs. McGee. DiNozzo. David. You are hereby suspended from NCIS pending a complete investigation into the allegations of evidence-tampering." Vance pitched his voice to carry, but he didn't need to — the squad room had gone silent after his instructions to Balboa. "You are not to have contact with any staff member of this agency for any reason until the investigation is complete."

Now for the tricky part of the scene they were staging. He turned to face Abby, who had her mouth open. "I said any staff member, Miss Scuito. That includes you. No phone calls, e-mails, text messages, visits, or any other form of communication or contact." Vance surveyed the room. "This applies to each of you. Violations will be punished with immediate suspension and a written reprimand in the offender's personnel file." He saw surprise on many faces and smirks on others, but nothing from any of their suspects that might help them crack this case.

"Agent Balboa, escort them out." Vance stayed in the bullpen, waiting.

"Director, there's been a mistake."

Vance was glad she was following the cues, even if she didn't have a copy of the script they were working from. "No mistake, Miss Scuito. Not on my part. And when the investigation bears out the accusations, you will see that. The only mistake made was by the agents who thought they could get away with breaking the law."

"But... But it's Gibbs. Gibbs! And the rest of them... They would never tamper with evidence. You know that, Director. They would never-" She was practically vibrating, and her expression was a mix of worry and anger. Vance hoped McGee was right about how quickly she would crack this, because he did not want the scientist as an enemy.

"Miss Scuito." He stepped up to face her. "Go down to your lab. Work on the cases that are your responsibility. Leave this one to me." He paused. "DO NOT think you can get around the no-contact restriction on this. I will be watching." He watched as she looked like she was about to say something. Instead, she turned and hurried out of the bullpen.

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-

They couldn't take agency cars, so when Tony parked in front of Gibbs' house, his Mustang joined an eclectic assortment that reflected his teammates. Looked as though even McGee had beaten him there — but Tony figured his being last would be forgiven when they saw the coffee and tea he carried. Gibbs would never turn down more coffee, and McGee and Ziva would just be glad to get something they could stomach. With enough milk and sugar, Tony could handle the tar Gibbs called coffee, but the other two, not so much.

He walked in and headed right down to the basement. Sure enough, the rest of the team was set up down there, along with what looked like a few hundred boxes of evidence.

"Good thing the boat's gone, Boss," he said as he set the tray down on the workbench, slinging his kit on the floor. "No room otherwise."

"Ya think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs looked up from the end of the stack of boxes. "Fornell just left."

"So how do we divide this up?" he asked, pulling out a sawhorse to sit on. "If our resident Abby expert is right, we don't have much time before Phase 2."

McGee looked up just long enough to stick out his tongue, then went back to the computer that looked out of place in the room full of hand tools.

"OK, here's the plan," Gibbs said. "DiNozzo, when did each of our suspects join the team?"

Tony thought back. "Krone's only been team lead for a few years — I think he got promoted while you were on your margarita safari." He winced as Gibbs glared at him. "But he moved up — he was senior agent on the team before that, along with Proctor. Richards joined the team around the same time."

"Ziva, start with cases more than five years old," Gibbs said. "See if you can find numbers that don't add up on cases before Richards joined the team. DiNozzo-"

"Start investigating the three men and see if there's anything that might indicate which one did this. On it, Boss."

Gibbs nodded. "McGee-"

"Already digging into their bank records, Boss." He didn't even look up from the computer, and Tony just shook his head and reached for the phone. He'd use Gibbs' phone so nobody could track his cell GPS. Just in case.


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Huge thanks to Kyrie for editing. Also thanks to several NCIS friends for their support during the past 24 hours as LFWS unraveled: Kesterpan, TaylorGibbs, Smackalicious, SondheimMcGeek, Sandbar17, Harempriestess and MegeesGeek. For those who haven't heard, I had issues with the way the final round was handled and conceded last night to Tigerlily rather than continue. But whatever issues I had with the contest, it gave me the bunny for this story, which I think is one of my better NCIS stories, so I'm glad I participated. _

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

The late afternoon light filtered through the high windows of the basement when McGee finally looked up from the computer.

"Boss, I've got a few things," he said.

Gibbs nodded. "Campfire."

Tony held up a finger as he finished his phone call, but Ziva was quick to join them. Gibbs took his reading glasses off, and McGee made a note of where he put them down. He'd be looking for them later.

Tony joined them a minute later. "I hope somebody found something useful — I sure didn't."

Gibbs shook his head. "None of the cases before Richards joined the team show any missing money."

"That is the same thing I have found," Ziva said.

"But his bank records look clean," McGee said. He frowned. "Proctor, on the other hand, has some odd transactions in his, and I found an account that isn't shared with his wife like their others."

"Maybe that's so he can do gifts and things?" Tony suggested. "Play money?"

McGee shook his head. "Mrs. Proctor doesn't have a similar account," he reported, "and this one has irregular infusions of cash that don't match anything in his other bank records."

"But if it's him, why wouldn't there be anything before Richards joined the team?" Tony said.

"Maybe he did not have the opportunity before." Ziva pulled out a file folder. "It appears Agent Balboa headed up this team before moving over to take the Cold Case Squad when several agents retired."

McGee thought back. "That's the same time Tony took over." He looked over at Tony, but the reference didn't seem to bother him.

"There were quite a few team leads who either were new or had new assignments," Tony said. "That's why after Gibbs came back and I turned down Rota, Shepard said another opportunity might not come up for a while. There weren't any team leads scheduled to retire in the next few years."

"Is there a point here?" Gibbs glared, and McGee was glad it wasn't directed at him.

"Yeah, Krone's an idiot," Tony said. "Balboa's not. If it was Proctor, he was probably smart enough to know he couldn't get away with it while Balboa was in charge."

"Then why wasn't he promoted instead of Krone?" McGee had always wondered.

"Krone was senior field agent," Tony said. "Shepard didn't leapfrog people." He made a face. "Balboa moved over because nobody on the Cold Case squad was ready to head up a team. Krone apparently met her standards. But then, so did I, so it's not like she had very high ones for team leads."

Gibbs reached over and head-smacked Tony, who reached back to rub his head.

"You were a good team lead," McGee said. "I gave you a lot of crap at the time, but it's because I was mad at Gibbs and he wasn't around to be mad at him." At the glare from Gibbs, McGee started to backpedal. "Not that I would have- I mean-"

Tony smirked. "Way to dig yourself into a hole, Probie."

"Krone." Gibbs glared.

"He might miss something Balboa wouldn't have," Tony said. "So it could still be Proctor."

"Or he could be sneaky enough to play dumb so nobody would suspect him," Gibbs said.

"Or that," Tony said.

"So we have learned nothing," Ziva said.

"Not nothing," McGee replied. He pulled up Proctor's banking records. "He usually fills up his car with gas twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. But every other week, he fills up three times — Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays."

"So he does some serious driving those Thursdays," Tony said.

McGee nodded and checked his watch. "If they didn't catch a case, he should be leaving the Yard soon."

Gibbs nodded. "I'll tail him." He looked around. "Ziva, you tail Richards. DiNozzo, McGee, keep digging, feed us anything you find that might help." He stuck his backup in his waistband. "We need to find something before Abby does."

"McGeek, can you see how far she's-"

Tim started shaking his head before Tony even finished his sentence. "She'd see me, Tony. Vance gave me a dummy account, but she could hack that. If she backtraces the connection to here, she'll know something's up and probably come over."

"That would puff the whole thing." Ziva pulled out her knife and tested the edge.

"Blow, Ziva." Tony shook his head. "Blow the whole thing. Never mind, McGee, forget I suggested it."

Tim just shrugged and went back to hacking his way into the lives of the three agents.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-**

Ziva pulled a bag from the back seat of her car, stuffed with the tools of her trade. Since joining Gibbs' team, she had substituted them with items more suitable for her work in America. She started with a pink Red Sox ball cap, then pulled a bright purple denim jacket on over her shirt. She pulled her long hair through the opening in the back of the cap, not bothering with a ponytail holder. A pair of battered sunglasses completed the image. Even if Richards caught sight of her — and there was no chance that would happen — he would not recognize her. More than likely, he would assume she was a college student. She reached back into the bag and rummaged around for the stack of magnets at the bottom. She chose the Catholic University one and stuck it on her back bumper as extra insurance — just in case. She could not afford to make a mistake.

She slid into the front seat and pulled out, threading her way through traffic until she reached the ballpark. A few more turns, and she was in place to follow Richards when he left the Navy Yard. While she waited, she could see Gibbs' battered truck idling the next block over. Proctor left first, and Ziva watched Gibbs follow. She had to wait another 20 minutes for Richards. She forced herself to hang up — no, hang back — as he threaded his way through the city streets. He drove into the Maryland suburbs, and Ziva began to think she had gotten one of the innocent agents. When he pulled into an apartment complex, she cursed. If he was at home, he was not doing anything to prove his guilt, if he was guilty. They did not have time for her to shadow him for multiple days, not with the time constraint the director had given them. She found a parking spot away from his car, where she could see if he tried to leave, and settled in. It could be a long night.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-**

Gibbs followed Proctor as he headed past the Mall, then north to the Beltway. The rush-hour traffic made it easier to track his quarry, but tougher to be inconspicuous. If he didn't stick in roughly the same lane, he risked losing Proctor when he finally chose his exit. His usual race car tactics wouldn't work here — they weren't exactly discreet.

Once they were headed west on I-270, Gibbs wondered where they were going. At least the traffic was moving faster. As they kept going, past Gaithersburg and Germantown, he wondered if they were going all the way to Frederick — or even further. His ancient truck was gassed up, at least. As the sun sank lower in the sky, Gibbs wondered again where Proctor was taking him. Soon they were passing Frederick and on U.S. 340 headed to West Virginia: just two lanes each direction and not much in the way of traffic. Gibbs hung back further now, not wanting to risk getting spotted. At least in this rural area, his truck was less remarkable. Highway signs listing the distance to upcoming cities gave him an idea, and he called McGee to see if the agent could find any evidence to back up Gibbs' hunch.

While he waited for the call back, Gibbs continued to follow. Proctor turned off the highway in Charles Town, and Gibbs smirked. McGee hadn't gotten back to him, but it looked like his suspicions were right.

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-**

Tony put the phone down and leaned back, arching his spine until he could feel all the vertebrae crack. He rubbed his eyes, which were starting to feel gritty.

"Hey, McHacker, I'm ordering pizza before it gets any later. You want your usual?"

McGee didn't respond, so Tony just headed upstairs to order the food. If his partner was on the trail, he wasn't going to disturb him.

By the time the pizza arrived, the coffee had finished brewing. Tony poured the drinks into two travel mugs and emptied the rest of the pot into a Thermos. That would save them from running up and downstairs, and it would keep the coffee hot. He looked at the clock — 2300. Not much time, considering he hadn't found anything to rule out any of their suspects.

He balanced the mugs on top of the pizza boxes, balanced the boxes on one hand, and carried the Thermos with the other. When he made it down and dropped everything on the workbench, McGee started.

"Hope that means you found a scent, McBloodhound," Tony said, handing over a mug, "because I'm coming up empty."

McGee rubbed the back of his neck. "Nothing conclusive." He frowned and reached for a slice of pizza. "You?"

Tony shook his head. "Hope the Boss and Ziva are having better luck."

"If by luck you mean learning something useful, then no, I did not." Ziva walked down the stairs. "Agent Richards went right home and stayed there all evening. After the lights in his apartment had been off for an hour, I decided I would be more useful back here."

Tony offered her one of the pizza boxes. "So unless Gibbs gets us something, we're no better off than we were." He thumped his fist on the workbench. "How is this guy good enough to stump all of us?"

"He is an agent," Ziva said. "He knows what we would look for, and so he knows how to cover his tracks."

Tony took another bite of pizza and thought. "So we don't have anything more on Richards, unless McSnooper dug something up." He looked over, but McGee shook his head.

"I think I know what Proctor's secret is, but if anything, it makes him more likely," he replied. "His mysterious trips are to Charles Town."

"Gambling." Tony nodded at the mention of the city known for its casinos. "That would explain the second bank account. His wife doesn't know?"

"She always has a receipt from a bookstore cafe in Silver Spring on the same nights he goes to Charles Town," he said. "I checked, and the cafe has a book club that meets those nights. Her Metro SmartCard shows she picks up the Red Line there in the morning instead of her usual Orange Line in Vienna." He handed over a printout. "Her twin sister lives in Silver Spring and also has receipts from the same bookstore."

"Girls night out," Ziva said. "So Proctor is free to do what he wishes. That explains his bank account and his additional gas usage."

"But that doesn't mean he's not the rotten apple," Tony said. "He could be bankrolling this with money he stole from cases. That would keep his wife in the dark about his gambling, since she doesn't seem to know."

"True." Ziva took a second slice of pizza. "What about Agent Krone?"

"Could be," Tony said. "We think of him as not that bright, but that doesn't match what other people think of him. At FLETC, he was top of his class, and when Pacci had him as a probie, he gave him glowing reviews. It was the same thing when he was in the Annapolis office — he did well there and got a promotion to the Navy Yard."

"So he could be playing dumb so nobody suspects he's stealing," McGee said.

"Or we could just be so used to Gibbs' standards that we do not have a clear view," Ziva said. "You know, I could be more effective if I had known this was coming. You could not share?"

McGee snorted. "You think we knew about this trap?" He rolled his eyes. "We went to Gibbs last week because we couldn't get any further without taking the risk that we'd tip off Krone's team. He took it to Vance. That was the last we heard of it until today in the director's office."

"Yeah, it's not like they told us they were 'suspending' us," Tony said, making air quotes with his fingers. He scowled. "Gibbs knew Vance had something in the works, but it didn't sound like the director gave our fearless leader many details either. Bet he'll be giving him hell for that later."

"I'm not taking that bet," McGee retorted. "And if we don't figure something out before Gibbs gets back, we're going to be the ones paying."

They tossed around theories and looked for evidence in the file boxes Fornell had brought over for another couple of hours until Gibbs returned, but still had nothing that would rule out any of the agents.

"Not Proctor." Gibbs was so quiet coming in, they didn't notice until he was standing at the base of the stairs.

"You sure, Boss?" Tony said. "Because he could be-" The headslap cut him off.

"Card counter," Gibbs replied. "Cleaned up tonight." He took a slice of cold pizza. "Makes the rounds in the region, casino to casino. Wins too much, gets banned for a few months, moves on. He was going to one in Chester, Pennsylvania, until about six weeks ago."

Tony rubbed his eyes. "It's 0300, and we've got nothing. Vance is going to be by looking for an answer so he can have Abby trap our guy, and we don't know who our guy is."


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: Huge thanks for all the reviews! I'm behind on replying, and not about to get caught up in the next day or so - my sister's getting married tomorrow so I'm about to depart for wedding madness. But the ever-wonderful Kyrie has finished editing the final chapter and I'll post it sometime Sunday. :) _

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

They finished filling Gibbs in what they'd learned, and he was as frustrated as they were. McGee could see the tightness around his eyes, and the way his fingers flexed on his coffee mug, like he wanted to throw it across the room.

"Vance will be here by 0430," Gibbs said. "He'll have to be to get into the Navy Yard and catch Abby before people start showing up." He started to review what they knew, but McGee tuned it out. There had to be something...

"Boss, I've got it!"

"You know who did it?" Tony turned to look at him.

"No, but I know how to catch him." McGee grinned and gestured to the stacks of boxes.

"How?" Gibbs lifted an eyebrow.

"Simple," McGee said. "We couldn't afford to tip off our suspects by going into the archived files and creating a paper trail. But if we send Vance into the archives — and make sure it's common knowledge — Krone, Richards, or Proctor will get spooked and then we can trap him."

"And how do you propose to do that, Agent McGee?"

McGee looked over to the stairs to see Vance standing on the lower landing.

"It's easy, Director," he said. "And Abby will be able to pull off her part perfectly." He outlined the plan for Vance and the rest of the team. "I'll go in now to find the files and set the alarms to alert us when they're opened. By the time you brief Abby and the rats are sitting in the squad room, the trap will be ready."

Vance nodded. "Good work, people. McGee, you set those alarms, watch for our rat. The rest of you, stand down until we catch him. Get some sleep — I'll need you in top form for the takedown."

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-**

It was still dark when Vance arrived at the Navy Yard, but as he entered the building, he could see lights on in the lab windows. He left his briefcase in his office, then made his way downstairs where he found Abby focused on a computer.

"Why are you doing this, Leon?" She didn't even look up.

"Doing what, Miss Scuito?"

Her gasp and wide eyes were proof enough that she hadn't expected him to be standing there.

"Director." She froze and stared.

"Miss Scuito." But there was panic in her eyes. "Abby."

"Director?"

"Upstairs, my office." When she hesitated, he doled out a crumb to ease her fears. "I know what you found, and I'll explain everything, but not here. It's not secure."

Once upstairs, he locked down the office. She turned to face him, her arms crossed. "Why did you set up the team? You didn't think you'd get away with it, did you?" She started pacing.

"Abby, I'm not after Gibbs' team."

"But you filed all the forms. You did the investigating. You suspended them. You-"

"Scuito." The command in his tone stopped her. "The team hasn't been suspended."

She stared at him. "But I saw-"

"You saw a scene, one we needed to play out for everyone else's benefit - including yours." Vance waited until he was sure she was listening. "McGee discovered we have an agent embezzling money, but we couldn't determine who — only which team he's on." He held her gaze. "We needed to smoke him out, and I needed to get Gibbs and his team off the grid while we did that."

"So... they're not in trouble?" She smiled.

"No, they're not. But we had to make you think so to pull off our plan."

She leaned on the conference table. "Shoot."

"McGee's set up a trap, but I need you to set it off." He outlined the plan. "Can you do that?"

Abby nodded. "I can totally catch this dirtbag for you."

"You don't need to catch him," Vance said. "Just spook him. The team will handle the catching." He checked his watch. "It's still too early for them to be in." He disengaged the lockdown mode and made a phone call.

"Breakfast will be here shortly — including a Caf-Pow — and I expect you to stay here and eat it. I need you to leave from here and go right into the bullpen for the next step. People will just think you were in here being briefed."

Abby nodded. "Can I-" She bit her lip. "Can I call them?"

Vance shook his head. "Not until this is over." He checked his watch. "They should all be sleep now, except McGee. They were up all night trying to isolate the rogue agent before you figured out this was a set-up." He smiled. "I thought it would take you until tomorrow — McGee insisted we only had until this morning."

Abby grinned. "You should know better, Leon — Timmy and I can crack anything."

**NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-**

When Abby was finally able to leave the director's office, he escorted her to the bullpen. "You know what we need, Miss Scuito," he said.

She nodded, her face set to look serious. Not that she wasn't serious, because this was bad. But Vance hadn't set up the team, so that was good. She sat down at McGee's desk and started typing. She quickly found the small program he'd planted on the desktop and launched it. She hid a smile as it set off graphics that made it look like the computer was melting down. Time to play her part.

She started stabbing the keyboard. "No!" She jammed down on the keys. "No, no, no."

"Miss Scuito." Vance called to her from a spot halfway up the stairs.

"McGee hid a program bomb on here, Director." She kept hitting keys, keeping her eyes on the computer to make it look like she was focused on tracking the damage. "It's deleting casefiles from the main server." She punched a few more keys. "I cut it off, but it zapped a bunch of files."

"How many?"

She typed her name a few dozen times, just to make it look like she was doing something. "It looks like all the casefiles any member of the MCRT touched in the past month." She typed some more. "They're completely gone."

"All of them?"

She nodded. "Even the cold case files they were working on last week got zapped." She looked at the papers on McGee's desk, then up at the director. "I don't know which ones Tony and Ziva were working on, but McGee was digging into the Hector case. Embezzlement."

"There's no way to get them back?"

"We'll have to reconstruct the documents from the paper ones filed in the archives with the case files," she said. "I can check my hard drive, see which forensic reports I have duplicates of. The Hector case, though, you'll have to check with the original investigators, see if they have copies. Maybe the others, too. Anything that involved embezzlement or something else without forensics."

Vance nodded. "Send me a list of all the cases, and I'll have them pulled ASAP. I want this fixed now."

"Yes, sir." Abby got up and headed for the elevator. Once inside, she took a deep breath. "OK, McGee, your boobytraps better work." She pushed the button for Autopsy. Maybe she could find a way to get Jimmy to join her in the lab, just in case. Safety in numbers.


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: Huge thanks to everybody who's been reading and reviewing! I just got back from my sister's wedding and need to catch up on responding to reviews, so assuming FF behaves, I'll be doing that later today. I've had a blast with this story. It started as an entry for LFWS on LJ with a cliffhanger prompt, but I had fun writing what happened *after* the cliffhanger. If nothing else, LFWS was worth it for this story - I never would have come up with it otherwise. :) And, as always HUGE thanks to my editor extraordinaire Kyrie. _

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

McGee yawned as he watched the screen, his eyelids sagging. He couldn't risk a nap though, not when Abby should be spooking their target any-

"Boss!" McGee jerked upright as files started flashing across his screen. "We've got him!"

"Him who?" Tony twisted and set off cracks along his spine. "Which of these idiots tried this boneheaded caper?"

"Not boneheaded." Gibbs didn't make a noise as he moved, but he was just there, standing behind McGee. "Covered his tracks. We wouldn't even have known about this if McGee hadn't been digging into that case."

"He's good, too," McGee said. "I don't know how he hid the money — I didn't turn anything up — but he's definitely our guy."

"Who, McGee?" Ziva stood in front of the computer, and McGee looked up to see she had the look on her face she normally directed at Tony, right before threatening him with the nearest office supplies at hand.

"Richards." McGee swallowed. "He's accessing the Hector files on -" He watched the changes the agent was making and grinned. "Not so smart now, are you?" He turned to Gibbs. "Call Vance — Richards just went in and changed the version of his notes in the final report to match the original amount of money." He looked back at the screen. "And now he's re-setting the time stamp on the file to the last time he opened it, three years ago."

Tony pumped his fist. "Good work, McGeek! Now we just need to take him down."

"Tony is right, McGee," Ziva said. "You have done good work on this case. We were not much help to you."

"It's not done yet, Ziva," McGee said. "We still haven't found the money. We know who to take into custody, but we still don't have enough evidence to arrest him for anything more than tampering with a federal investigation."

"We will." Gibbs snapped his phone shut. "Vance will be sending Krone's team out to a crime scene at the park two blocks from here. We're going to be waiting to arrest Richards. McGee, go sleep on the couch until after we arrest this dirtbag."

McGee wanted to argue, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Gibbs glared at him.

"On it, Boss." He went to stand up, but stumbled.

"DiNozzo, make sure he doesn't break his neck getting there," Gibbs said. "Make more coffee, then get your ass back down here. McGee's right, we still need to pin this on Richards."

**-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-**

An hour later, Tony wasn't surprised to see Vance walk into the basement.

"Glad to see McGee's getting some shut-eye," Vance said. "I'm about to make the call. Gibbs, your team ready?"

Gibbs nodded, and Tony was compelled to add, "Oh, we're ready, Director."

He barely winced at the headslap from Gibbs. "Right, Boss. No maiming. I know."

Vance nodded. "We play this one by the books," he said. "You'll get your chance in interrogation." He cracked a smile, and Tony winced, hoping he would never be interrogated by the director.

Vance pulled out his phone and called Krone. Tony checked the time. It was after rush hour, so it shouldn't take them long to get here from the Navy Yard.

"Boss, we'd better get into position," he said.

"Before you do, you'll need these." Vance handed them their badges and SIGs.

Tony grinned as he clipped his badge on the pocket of his jeans and slid his holster into its familiar spot on his right hip. Now things were back to normal. Or as normal as they ever got.

Gibbs led Tony and Ziva through yards and other shortcuts, so they managed to walk the two blocks to the park in almost the same time it took Vance to drive over in the agency car. Tony scanned the park before settling into a space where a brick fireplace stood near the corner of two stone walls. The walls hid him from the street and the park entrance, and the open side faced into the park itself. The spot would be good shelter if this turned ugly, and he could cover Vance and Gibbs, who had taken position behind a giant oak tree. He watched as Ziva scaled a pine tree to hide a dozen feet off the ground. He remembered the last time she'd been up a tree and swallowed, hoping this case turned out better than that one had.

It wasn't more than 15 minutes before a blue sedan pulled up. Tony knew Ducky and Palmer wouldn't be far behind, but their faulty navigational skills should keep them out of the way until the shooting was over. If there was shooting. Tony pulled his weapon out and took off the safety as he crouched behind the walls.

"Director Vance?" Krone led his team into the park. "I thought you said there was a dead sailor. Where are the local LEOs?"

"I'm afraid I wasn't completely honest with you, Agent Krone." He paused, then raised his voice. "Was I, Agent Gibbs?"

Tony watched as Gibbs stepped out from behind the tree. Krone and Proctor looked confused, but the expression on Richards' face confirmed what McGee's computer work had revealed to them. He ducked down before they could see him.

"Gibbs?" Krone sounded confused. "Aren't you-?"

"Nope." Gibbs wasn't giving anything away in his voice. "Never was."

"We have a rogue agent in NCIS, but I knew it wasn't Gibbs or his team," Vance said. "They agreed to be the bait while we smoked out the real culprit."

Tony risked peering over the wall to see Gibbs, his hand on his holster. Ziva was apparently still in the tree, because he couldn't see her. Meaning the others couldn't either. Proctor had his hands on his hips, but he didn't seem mad. Krone's arms were crossed, and he faced Vance and Gibbs. However, Richards was practically vibrating, and Tony tensed. If he ran-

"Are you accusing me, Director?" Krone stepped closer.

"Not you," Vance said.

Krone turned to the men behind him, and Vance and Gibbs stepped closer. That was all it took, and Richards was off, racing into the park. Tony pivoted and ran, glad that was the unobstructed side of his cover. He was fast, but so was Richards. The rogue agent had never been a college D1-caliber athlete, but he had a good 15 years on Tony and had never battled the plague, so they were almost evenly matched. Tony tried to herd Richards back toward the center of the park, hoping Ziva or the others could cut him off.

Richards risked a look back and didn't see the branch in his path. His foot rolled under him, and he stumbled. Tony put on a burst of speed and managed a flying tackle to bring Richards to the ground. He pulled his handcuffs from his back pocket.

"You're under arrest." He pulled Richards' hands back behind him and snapped the cuffs on, making sure they were good and tight. "And after trying to pull the wool over Director Vance's eyes, not to mention running from Gibbs and making us stay up all night, you're also screwed." He got up and hauled Richards to his feet, frog-marching him down the path back toward the park entrance. The agent was limping some, but Tony kept up a quick pace. Gibbs and Ziva met up with them about a hundred yards down the path.

"That's good work, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "Too bad, though. I was looking forward to interrogating this bastard into confessing."

"Yeah, it's not as fun when they scare easily." Tony pushed Richards toward Ziva, who smiled at the rogue agent, the kind of smile that always made Tony think of a feral animal baring its teeth. "He's not going to last 10 seconds in interrogation with you, Boss. I won't even have time to finish making the popcorn."

Gibbs just quirked an eyebrow and smacked the back of his head, and Tony grinned. "Come on, let's get McGoo. This was his case, and he missed all the good stuff."

**-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-**

Abby was watching the fingerprints fly across the screen as AFIS tried to find a match, when she saw a Caf-Pow appear next to her. She whirled around to find her team there, Vance in tow.

"Gibbs, you're back!" She wrapped her arms around Timmy. "McGee, your snooper program rocks." She let go of him and moved on to Tony, who picked her up and spun her around.

"Good work this morning, Abs," he said, setting her down. She reached over and pulled Ziva in for a hug, then moved on to Gibbs, who hugged her close, then kissed her cheek.

"Sorry, Abs," he whispered in her ear. "We had to do it this way."

She nodded and decided to save her thoughts on that until she had an explanation.

"So fill me in," Abby said. "I'm completely out of the loop."

"No, Abigail, I believe that honor is reserved for Mr. Palmer and myself." Ducky stood in the doorway of the lab. "Jethro, I understand you could not reveal there was an operation in place, but it was rather embarrassing to show up thinking we were to examine a dead sailor and find Ziva leading an NCIS agent away in handcuffs."

Gibbs shook his head. "Not my op, Duck."

Vance looked over at the medical examiner. "Need to know, Dr. Mallard. You didn't. And I couldn't tell Agent Krone not to call you out this morning, or it would have tipped Richards off."

"No, I understand," Ducky said. "We were not on the list of people who needed to know and solving this case took precedence over our vain desires to not look foolish. But would somebody please explain what is going on for those of who missed portions of the escapade?"

Abby listened as the team took turns telling the tale, chiming in with her own overnight adventures.

"I wish I could have seen your face when Vance walked in and answered you," Tony said.

"It was memorable, Agent DiNozzo." Vance nodded. "Miss Scuito looked like she'd just come face to face with an axe murderer."

"I- I-" Abby tried to find something to say, but couldn't.

"Don't worry," Vance said. "You played your part perfectly, and I'm sorry we had to keep you in the dark."

"So how long are you letting Richards stew?" Tony asked from his perch on the lab table.

"Richards just finished writing out and signing his confession," Vance said. "The thought of facing Agent Gibbs in interrogation was enough to have him spilling all the details."

"What I don't understand is why he did it," McGee said. "He had to know he'd get caught at some point and his career would be over. Not to mention the jail time."

"Greed, pure and simple," Vance said. "Apparently on his first case with the team, he made a mistake typing up his initial field notes and nobody questioned it. The rest of the team used the wrong number in all their paperwork, and it went into the files as the lower number. Then a few weeks later, they caught the petty officer who had been stealing. He'd had the money stashed in a box under his bed. Richards was the one charged with counting it, and he realized he could pocket the $5,000 difference and nobody would know."

McGee nodded. "So he kept doing it. In most cases, the stolen money would be spent or in an account somewhere that was handled electronically. But not all the time."

"And for the ones that turned out to be hidden in cash or something else tangible, like stocks or jewelry, he'd be able to pocket the difference." Tony shook his head. "No wonder you couldn't find any accounts, McGee. He knew that would create a paper trail he couldn't cover. He had to do the same thing as the people who stole it int he first place, keep it around."

"That is probably what he was doing last night," Ziva said. "He must have the money in his apartment. I am sure he was finding new hiding spaces for it, so that if somebody became suspicious and searched, they would not find anything."

Vance nodded. "I have Balboa's team over there now searching for the money. Once they find it, this case is wrapped up."

Abby grinned. "Does that mean they can all go home, Leon? Because they look like they're about to fall asleep standing up."

"You heard Miss Scuito, go home, get some sleep," Vance said. "You deserve to start your weekend early after the past two days."

"And then when you wake up, you four are taking Ducky, Jimmy, and me out for drinks for making us worry about you," Abby said. "McAllister's Pub, 1900. You too, Gibbs." She stared at him, then each of the others in turn. "The next time you guys pull something like this, you're in big trouble." She slapped Gibbs on the back of the head, then went around, punching each of the others on the arm.

"Ow!" McGee rubbed his shoulder.

"Abby!" Tony ducked, so she got Ziva, then went back for him.

"Tony." She glared at him as she punched the director, then realized what she'd done. "Oops." She bit her lower bit. "Sorry, Leon." She lowered her eyes to the floor and waited for the explosion.

"Miss Scuito."

She looked up. "Yes?" She braced, waiting for what he would do.

"I couldn't risk telling you." He looked around the room. "I couldn't tell any of you what I had planned. If we failed, Richards would have gotten away with it."

Abby nodded and tried to shrink down. McGee put his arm around her shoulders, and Tony slid his around her waist. "I understand." She was quiet.

"And I understand that I asked a lot of you these past 24 hours, relying on you to trust that I was handling an explosive situation appropriately." Vance looked at Abby, and after a minute, she nodded. He did the same with each member of the team. "You handled this well, even better than I expected, and as one of the best team's in this agency's history, I expect a great deal from you. To thank you, tonight's drinks are on me."

Abby couldn't help laughing as Tony pumped a fist and even Gibbs managed a small smile. For the first time since this nightmare started a day ago, she felt like things were back to normal.


End file.
